Aidan glanced at Xander. "You work with Liz, don't you? You could talk to her..."

Jeffery chose then to announce, "I've made first contact with Maria. I can talk to her more extensively, if you like. But someone else has to take Isabel detail. I met her last night. She hates me already."

Aidan let out a bark of surprised laughter. "You wound up on the wrong side of a girl?"

"What can I say?" Jeffery shrugged. "She had absolutely no interest in conversation. I think it's going to take a lot for anyone to break through her shell." He paused for a minute, and then said, "Actually, I wouldn't send a guy at all. I'd go for something more subtle."

"Uh uh," Jessica said before anyone could volunteer her. "I'm not doing siblings. That's too much trouble there. Not that I'd know," she added when everyone looked in her direction. There had been that little incident with Aura and her little brother, but that was a long time ago and it was his fault for trying to hit on her anyway.

"Well, I could call her in for a schedule consultation..." Aidan pondered the problem, and then his eyes landed on Cordelia. He started to smile. "Cordelia. Maybe you could talk to her."

"Sure!" Cordelia said, eager to help and possibly miss more class.

"Great idea!" Jeffery interrupted. "Just because she's not on the market for a guy, doesn't mean she's not up for some girl bonding!"

"Hey!" she said, glaring at Jeffrey. "I said I would talk to the girl, I said *nothing* about bonding."

"There's something up with that Isabel girl," Jeffery added positively. "I don't know what they were, but something kept her closed and guarded. I suppose it could just be the way she is, but, in my experience, people tend to be open until something bad happens. Then, after they're hurt so badly that they think they'll never get over it, they get all guarded. Or they force... nevermind. I just think someone should talk to her." He looked away from the group and stared out Aidan's window for a second. He'd almost revealed too much there. And this meeting wasn't about him and his pain. They had more important things to talk about right now.

Aidan nodded, focusing on Jeffery's Isabel-related comments only. "All right, in the interest of treading lightly, I think I will call Isabel in for a schedule consultation, but, Cordelia, if you would, I think you should try to reach out to her. See if you can get anywhere..." He looked to see if Cordelia was agreeable.

"All right, All right, I'll go! Where can I find this "I'm-too-tough-for-the-world-can't-talk-to-a-guy" gal anyway?"

Aidan reached for the stack of folders on his desk. Yes, he had decided not to show their personal contents to the others, but he could show Cordelia her picture.

He took out the picture and showed it to Cordelia, and the others in the room. "This is Isabel Evans. She's a junior this year, and..." He looked in the folder. "...right now she's at lunch."

Cordelia went over to Aidan and glanced at the picture. "A girl who knows how to dress...nice." Suddenly Cordelia was turning over the thought of befriending Isabel and going shopping with her. She needed someone to shop with, it wasn't like Harmony was available anymore.

Aidan thought for a moment, and then added, "However, it might seem more natural if I called you both in for scheduling conferences at the same time and then had to leave you in here together. What do you think?"

"I think that's a good idea" Cordelia said, rummaging through her bag to find the schedule that Xander had gotten for her. Triumphantly pulling it out she ran her manicured fingernail down the list of classes, stopping at one and showing the schedule to Aidan. "This has got to go...can you believe they gave me art?"

Aidan bit back the urge to burst into laughter. "Before I became a guidance counselor I never knew students had such varied... and strong... opinions about art."

***************

Maria swallowed around a sudden lump in her throat. This was Michael's home. This was where he had come from and where he belonged, and no matter how much she wished it were otherwise, she could not change that. They were from two different worlds.

And she knew, deep down inside, that this was a gap she would not be able to bridge. Michael had always been more connected with his past than Max or Isabel, always more intent on finding out where he had come from and returning to what he had been. It was beautiful, very beautiful in an unearthly way, but at the same time it drove home what she had been trying so hard to avoid. Destiny wasn't the only thing seperating her and Michael. It was distance and heritage. It was space itself.

"It's really pretty," she said quietly, with that sort of voice that people get when they are trying very, very hard not to cry. "You don't see rocks like that here." She could feel tears stinging her eyes, but she had learned a long time ago that if she didn't blink, she wouldn't start crying. "I don't think I could come visit," she added, more softly than before. "But maybe if you get home, you can send me a picture or - or something..."

She blinked.

She couldn't help it. The universe wasn't fair. It kept piling things on her when she was trying so hard to be strong for everybody and telling herself that she didn't need to care or understand. She cared about Michael too much. She loved him. That wasn't going to change, but it didn't stand a chance against all of this - against the memories of a planet that had purple rocks and red rivers and green skies.

Whoever said love conquered all had never figured on lightyears getting in the way.

Michael was staring at his painting, trying yet again to remember more about this strange vision that had been haunting his dreams all summer until he finally managed to get it down on paper. The landscape painted before him was both familiar and, for lack of a better word, alien at the same time.

The sound of soft crying brought his mind back from where it had been... somewhere in another solar system on another planet that he seemed to remember from another lifetime.

Michael looked over at Maria and noticed right away that she was fighting back tears. His heart constricted painfully in his chest at the sight of his Maria crying. Thoughts of "don't get too close" and "be a stonewall" disappeared as he reached out and wiped away a single tear that had made its way down her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

"Hey, what's all this?" he asked in a hushed whisper, his fingers gently resting against her cheek. He tried to ignore how soft her skin felt and how intoxicating it was being this close to her. Instead, Michael focused on her eyes, her beautiful green eyes, that were brimming with unshed tears. "Are you OK?"

"No," Maria said quietly. "No, I'm not." She scrubbed at her eyes, looking away from Michael and back at the painting in the vain hope that he hadn't seen her about to break down. "This is your home. This is where you belong and - and it'll always be a part of you." She lifted her head suddenly, so that she was meeting his eyes. It was as if she was on the edge of a cliff, and if she fell off she was just going to spill everything. She couldn't do that; she couldn't give Michael one more burden.

"It's not a part of me, is it?" she asked quietly. "I don't even know where it is, but I know I won't be able to see it. That's something that Max and - and Isabel share with you. But I can't." Suddenly everything started to come out in a torrent and there was nothing she could do to stop it. "It's more than that stupid destiny thing - it's what you are and what I'm not. And I'm still in lo - "

Ring.

The cell phone pulled Maria back just in time. She took a deep, shaky breath and steadied herself, letting it ring a few more times before she reached down and pulled it out of her purse. "Hello?"

*****************

"I've taken art before. One day the delinquent who sat next to me decided to finger paint all over my extremely expensive Calvin Klein sweater because he was feeling inspired." Cordelia placed the schedule and gave Aidan a big smile "I don't take art anymore."

He shook his head, and then got back to the matter at hand. "After lunch I'll have the office page the two of you, and then we'll see what happens."

"Well that sounds good. I don't need people here thinking of me as the new girl who tracks them down to talk about strange occurrences."

Xander grinned, giving Cordelia's hand a squeeze. "Yeah, so she says. But I think she secretly gets a kick out of this 'I Spy' thing."

"Yeah" Cordelia agreed sarcastically "Get me a pair of sunglasses and a trench coat and I'll be on cloud nine."

Then he glanced at Xander. "And you're fine with talking to Liz, Xander?" He glanced to Amy as well, who was still thinking about his police station question. "Amy? How about you? Perhaps someone could go with you if you're uncomfortable doing it alone..."

"Well, talking to Liz should be no problem," Xander told Aidan with a reassuring smile. "I've got it covered."

Aidan turned to Amy. "Now, for you I've got something a little different, if you're up to it. If you have time after school, I thought you could pay a little visit to the local law enforcement. We could think up some kind of cover, like you're doing at article for the school paper, or something, and you can see what you can learn about the Sheriff and his deputies."

"I can do it," she said quietly. She wanted to help and her experiences in Ireland had pretty much gotten her over any lingering fear of law enforcement. She was just overwhelmed and was pretty sure it showed. She was about five cents sharp of the cosmic hum and was pretty sure she'd need to find a way to get in tune before confronting trained detectives.

While the meeting continued, Jeffery leaned down and put a hand on his sister's shoulder, brotherly concern evidant in his eyes.

"You OK, Aim?" he whispered.

With a brief shake of her head she said, "Not really. It's been a bad day." She reached up and squeezed his hand on her shoulder, grateful for the support.

Jeffery glanced around. No one was really paying attention to them. They were talking with Aidan about "the plan."

In a very low voice, he asked, "Let me know if I can help." He worried for her. Especially after the confused moment about their father she'd had this morning.

"It's just been a day from hell," Amy told him quietly and then realized what she'd said. "But not literally," she amended quickly. "It's just going to take me a while to get used to a new school and everything. The First Day is hard enough when you aren't investigating crime scenes and supernatural occurrences and have just lost your father..." She trailed off with that last item. She met her brother's eyes and saw compassion and brotherly concern pouring from them. She took solace in that, in the eyes the same color blue as her own. She breathed in deeply and realized she was not alone and that she was only slightly sharp of the cosmic hum now. What a blessing was her brother!

Jeffery nodded in understanding. He, too, had had quite the day so far. He leaned down and gave his sister a kiss on the cheek. Then he whispered, "Any time you need to talk about it, I'm always here for you. No matter what."

Then his ears perked up as he heard Xander start describing the scene at the diner that morning. Since it had had such consequences for him, Jeffery found himself paying extra attention.

************

"Maria!" Liz said quickly. "Are you with Michael? Can you meet Isabel, Max and I at the bleachers by the football field in five minutes? Max says it's important..."

"Yeah. Sure." Maria glanced at Michael in a sort of not-meeting-his- eyes kind of way. "Bleachers. We'll see you there." She hung up before Liz could ask what was wrong - she could tell her friend knew there was something - and made herself keep looking at Michael. "Bleacher meeting. Max says it's important."

From the sound of her best friend's voice, Liz could tell that something was wrong, but she couldn't ask about it now. Harmony was right there. Liz was having a hard enough job keeping her voice low enough that Harmony couldn't hear and loud enough that Maria could hear. Liz vowed to help Maria any way she could, but first they had to all get together.

Max wasn't sure if his sister could hear was Liz was saying or not. He could hear her, but only bearly and only because he was standing just beside her. Nevertheless, he caught her eye and gave her that we-need-to-talk-elsewhere look. Isabel was so good at reading him, and usually the same was true of him. He just hoped she understood him and would make excuses to Harmony. He felt a twinge of regret for dragging his sister away from the vestiges of normalcy she had found here, but there was nothing for it. This Tess thing was a knot of urgency gnawing at him incessantly.

Liz looked to Max. "They're meeting us there." She turned to go. "See you later, Harmony. I'm glad you had lunch with us, even if it didn't turn out precisely according to plan." Then she started toward the bleachers. She didn't know if Max would follow or wait for Isabel. Probably the later. And that was fine. She hoped he would think she was going after Alex. She didn't want to get into that mess in front of Harmony. The new girl had witnessed enough weirdness today, though hopefully she attributed it all to failed romance or something normal. Liz walked with a purposeful gait toward the back entrance that would lead her around the school and over to the bleachers.

'See ya Liz," Harmony cheerfully replied, before turning to Isabel. "So I suppose that is your cue to go as well."

"Oh yeah, I'm always needed," Isabel rolled her eyes. "It's usually something earth-shattering." She looked over at Max who as usual had his over-protective eye on her. It kept Isabel feeling safe and that was what she needed.

"I'll catch up with you later, okay," Isabel said smiling to Harmony, before heading off to follow Liz.

"Bye," Harmony called out. She glanced at her watch and realised there was a bit of the lunch hour left. More than enough time to get some answers from a certain guidance officer. She had a few potential friends in this town and the last thing she wanted was for one of them to turn into a blood bank, simply becasue they didn't know what was going on.

*******************

Aidan looked around, waiting to see if Jessica, Xander, Cordelia, Willow and Amy were all on board with this plan. And once they confirmed that, Aidan still had to tell them all about Tess, and he needed to find out the details Xander had promised about the encounter at the diner this morning. The meeting was far from over, but at least they were well on their way...

"This all sounds great, but we're kinda missing a really big hulking detail." Jessica looked at Aidan, who seemed to be defacto director here. "Her name's Tess Harding. I had an encounter with her at the Crashdown last night. She's a complete bitch - threatened to snap my neck," she added as if this was an unimportant if vaguely interesting detail. "Guerin and Parker knew her," She gave them all a serious look. "I'm thinking vampire here," she said quietly. "Or something seriously nasty. And I'm thinking Guerin and Parker both know about it."

Aidan felt a huge weight of worry vanish as Jessica unwittingly confirmed his suspicions about Tess.

He actually smiled at her a little as he replied, "Yes, there is something disturbing about Tess Harding. She was in her earlier, and I got a definite vampire feel as well. At least until a sunbeam hit her directly in the face and she didn't flinch. She wasn't affected by it at all. However, she is too strong for her body size. I was going to haul her down to the office for belligerent behavior, and I couldn't move her. I outweigh her by a great deal, and I couldn't move her. I suspect there is some demonic force in her, though it, obviously, cannot be vampirism." This was a moment when Aidan really wished Faith was here. He would have liked her point of view on the subject, as a Slayer. But thinking of that lead to thinking of other things that were less-good to focus on at this point, so he pushed Faith out of his mind and turned to the others. "Have any of the rest of you seen this Tess person? Thoughts, reactions?"

Willow shook her head no. Seeing as she'd just arrived in Roswell, she really didn't have much information to dispense about the locals yet. But she did know one thing she could do to help... She slipped around Aidan's desk and perched herself in front of his computer, immediately accessing the demon database and running a search for any demons who matched the description that Aidan and Jessica had just given her.

Meanwhile, as Willow was tapping away at the keyboard, Xander spoke up. "I was there when she made her fantastical debut at the Crashdown last night. She was a little creepy, but I didn't smell anything demonic. Of course, I was further away from her than everyone else because I was cleaning up in the kitchen."

"Well, the girl definitely bodes watching, and investigating. There is something *very* off about her..." Aidan felt a little relieved to hear Willow typing away behind him. It was comforting and familiar. She was doing her job. The hard thing about being separated from the Sunnydale crew was missing his friends.

"Now," Aidan said, unwilling to let the meeting stagnate as it had while they waited on the phone call, "Before we adjourn, some of us need to be filled in on what happened at the diner this morning." His eyes rested on Xander because Xander was the one who had told him about it, but anyone was free to answer the question.

Jeffery looked around with interest. "Jessica and I showed up, but not until it was mostly over. I don't know what started the whole mess. There is one thing we should take note of, though. Zeke is in town."

Aidan's eyes flashed over to Jeffery. "Zeke?" he repeated.

"Zeke," Jeffery confirmed. His hand unconsciously went to the place where the glass had torn through his mid-section. "And she's not very happy to be here."

"All right," Aidan said quietly, "now, I really need to know what was actually going on at that diner..."

Xander shrugged, looking down at his toes uncomfortably. "Zeke was making trouble, as usual. She always manages to push my buttons." He didn't elaborate on that statement, not really wanting to discuss his loss of control with everybody and his brother. It was embarrassing, highly personal and slightly disturbing. "We'll have to keep a close eye on her while she's in town."

He didn't say anything about Jade. She hadn't seemed to want to be the object of a lot of scrutiny. Xander wasn't sure why he was protecting her, but he was. He felt a kind of strange loyalty to her, even though they'd only just met this morning.

[Must be the werewolf thing] he mused silently.

***************

Jade raised her hand in a wave but didn't turn around to see Zeke out. She was tired. Cranky. And a little disappointed.

"I'm usually around if you need to find me. Look for the beat up Grand Cheerokee at musems or galleries."

That was the only way she could be found though. No beeper, no phone, no home, just a wander. A lonely one at that. Jade rolled her neck, hearing it crack.

"Hope you find what you're looking for."

"Not looking for anything. 'cept maybe a way out."

She shuffled out the door and shut it, trying not to be loud and obnoxious.

Leaving the hotel Zeke squinted her eyes in the bright Roswell sun. It getting later though, the afternoon heat was setting in. Time to find shade.

With the scoobs around, it was going to be a long night. Not to mention the fact that she had some "unintentional-bumping-into" to do with certain werewolves after the sun set.

She eyed the door for a second and then shrugged it off. She wasn't going after her. Nope. And no way was her mind agreeing with her body already making it's way to the door.

Jade sighed and smacked herself in the forehead. Bad Doggie Bad. With a mutter she flopped back on to the bed and jammed the pillow over her ears.

There was too much all of a sudden to think about. Halfweres and alphas and hunters and immortals and...really bad Karma going on. Whatever she did in a past life was really bad if this was her retropay.

And to top it alllll off. Jade was going to have to find a job soon. Like yesterday. With a small growl of annoyance she settled in to the bed and fell asleep.

FtB Jay until nighty time.

******************

Jeffery slanted a gaze at Xander. "We always have to keep an eye on Zeke." He turned back to Aidan. "If I couldn't use magic, and if Willow and Amy hadn't taught me those healing spells, I would be in the Emergency room right now getting glass shards out of my stomach." He pulled his shirt out of his waist band and showed them the rips. You couldn't see them when he had the shirt tucked in, which, to his mind was a good thing.

"I'm glad you're all right," Aidan said.

Jeffery shook his head. "No worries. I'm nothing if not resilliant."

"One thing," Aidan asked. "Did anyone in the diner see you do the magic? Or did they get good looks at you all when the fight was going on?"

"I don't know," Jeffery admitted. "I did my best to keep what I was doing out of the line of sight of anyone who happened to be in there, but I never actually got inside the diner so, I don't know how many people were in there. I guess Xander knows, though..." Jeffery paused, and then added, "There were some others there this morning though, out of our group. Faith and Oz, namely. And there was also this other girl I didn't know, but she seemed involved somehow. I didn't talk to her though. I was kind of busy. The cops came toward the end, but we got out of there in time. At least, Jessica and I did." His hand unconsciously went to his stomach.

Aidan looked at Xander. "Is our group compromised too badly? Do we have to start dodging law enforcement... or the tabloids... already?" Aidan wasn't happy about that idea. He knew that it wasn't Xander's fault -- or anyone else's, and he wasn't trying to take anything out on them or blame them unnecessarily. However, he was unhappy that the whole confrontation had gone down, especially because it had been in a public place in the middle of the morning. He just hoped things hadn't been compromised beyond repair.

Amy investigated the shirt Jeffery pulled out and suddenly felt amazingly self-involved. Here she was moping about being lost and missing class and her brother had been seriously hurt -- impaled in the gut with glass. After a good deal of inner castigation she resolved to scan Jeffery's wound to make sure he was okay. He was a talented and resourceful spell-caster and she was extremely proud of the progress he had made, but she needed to prove to herself that he was really all right.

There was work to be done, mysteries to be solved and demons to be fought. They weren't going to wait until Amy Madison was feeling chipper. She needed to get her act together. No one ever said saving the world was easy. Duly chastized, she brought her full attention to bear on the meeting and waited patiently for orders or a subject she knew something about and would require her contribution.

************

The ring of the cell phone might have stopped Maria from actually saying the words, but Michael, contrary to popular belief, was not completely dense. He knew what she'd been about to say and while one part of him was relieved that the ringing phone had stopped her from saying something they'd probably regret later on, another much less rational part of him wished that she had said it. He'd never in his life heard someone say those three little words to him.

Yes, Maxwell and Izzy cared about him, but it wasn't the same. And no matter how good their intentions were, there was always a gulf between them that couldn't be bridged by mere words. They knew what it felt like to love and be loved, to live knowing that there is no shortage of people to care about you. Michael could only guess what that felt like. And, as much as he was happy that they'd gotten so lucky, Michael often found himself consumed by jealousy for the life that he couldn't have. The love that he couldn't have.

But Maria was different. She understood him in a way that the others never could, identical DNA or not. She knew what it was like to sit in a dark room and try to imagine what her father's face really looked like. And to have to fight the tears when no image would come to mind. She knew what it felt like to be abandoned by someone that was supposed to love you unconditionally. Maybe that was what had brought them together to begin with: mutual understanding and need. It made as much sense as anything else, he supposed.

So, while Maria talked to someone on her phone, Michael found herself watching her. Watching the way her golden hair brushed across her shoulders, watching the way her fingers clutched at her phone, watching her lips move as she spoke. And, for the first time in three months, he doubted his decision to leave her. Really doubted it.

After all, who gave a f*** about destiny if he wasn't allowed even one moment of happiness? It's not like the people they were supposed to save were really his people. He was just a clone of someone else, trying to fix mistakes from someone else's life. He wasn't human, but he didn't belong in the landscape he'd painted either. He didn't belong anywhere.

But here in this art room, standing next to Maria DeLuca, he felt like maybe it was possible to belong to someone. And he realized that he wanted that. He wanted that a lot. Which was both extremely scary and exciting at the same time.

He took a step closer to her, listening to the sound of her breathing.

[What, now you're captivated by how she breathes? You're so far gone into swoony, sappy Max-land that it's not even funny! Get ahold of yourself, Guerin!]

Michael blinked. And then he blinked again.

[What's that sound? Oh, right. It's the sound of the real world crashing down around us. Should've known it was gonna happen sooner or later. Timing sucks, though.]

Michael sighed, sitting down on the floor and thumping his head back against the art cabinet... which kinda hurt. A bleacher meeting. That meant trouble. Which just reminded him of the fact that whether he liked his destiny or not, he was stuck with it. Because there were enemies out there, evil aliens, who wanted to see them and everyone they cared about dead. And for Michael, the list of people he cared about that were not from "up north" was very short. And one name was at the top of that list.

"Maria."

Maria took a step toward Michael, standing next to the painting of a world that, for all she knew, didn't even exist anymore. In some ways, she was very glad that Liz had chosen to call when she had, but the part of her that wasn't logical wanted to strangle her best friend for interrupting her. Even if Michael didn't love her, even if saying it meant all sorts of consequences, she wanted it out in the open.

He hadn't realized he'd spoken aloud until after her name had already slipped passed his lips. Looking up at her, Michael decided that fate had a really horrible sense of humor. After all, fate had placed her in his life and fate then took great pleasure in reminding him just why he couldn't have her.

The irony was not lost on him.

After all those years of wanting nothing but to find his home, he'd finally discovered a reason to stay here. And now that home planet that he'd searched so long and hard for was being forced upon him, whether he liked it or not. A year ago, even a few months ago, he would have been thrilled. Now he was anything but.

Another case of really sucky timing, he supposed.

"Maria..." He trailed off, finishing his unasked question with a million and one thoughts in the space of a few heartbeats. [What did I do to deserve this? Why did they have to lead me to you just to take you away from me? Why can't I ever be happy?]

But those questions couldn't be asked. Not out loud. He looked at her, meeting her eyes, and wondered if she could read those questions in the look on his face.

Better not to ask.

"...what did Max say this bleacher meeting was about?"

At least that question was relatively safe. Though not very satisfying.

"I don't know. Liz just said it was important." Maria grimaced at the thought of the real world crashing down. "I told him about Tess. That's probably what all of this is about."

Michael sighed and thumped his head back against the cabinet again, harder this time.

"Ow."

"Don't go hurting yourself." Maria squatted down and touched Michael's shoulder. She was going for sisterly reassurance, but that wasn't quite what was running through her head at the moment. She had no idea if he even knew what she had been intending to say or if he would have been angry or...or she didn't know what. Maybe it wasn't her job to love him, but at least she could keep him from giving himself cranial damage.

He raised a hand to touch the back of his head and winced. He didn't handle all this touchy-feely, angsty stuff very well. This was Max's terrain. Not his. He was a do-er. He didn't sit and talk about things until he was blue in the face. He got things done.

But, damn it, he sure wasn't doing very much at the moment! And why was that?

Then, out of the blue, Michael found himself remembering something he'd quoted to Maria once, when she'd questioned the fact that he was an avid reader of anything by James Joyce.

"What incensed him the most was the blatant jokes of the ones who pass it all off as a jest, pretending to understand everything and in reality not knowing their own minds."

He'd always found that passage to be very much attuned to his own beliefs and feelings, but he was suddenly faced with the knowledge that he was turning into one of those people that he hated, someone who acted like they were all that but didn't even know their own mind.

Maybe it was time for Michael to follow his own instincts, instead of letting other people and events dictate what he did with his life. He needed to know himself and then take heed of that knowledge and use it. Basically, he needed to figure out what he wanted most and then go for it, damn the consequences.

And since Michael already had an idea about what he really wanted, now he just had to figure out a way to get it back.

Leave it to Joyce to inspire him. Who needs self help books when you've got Ulysses?

And so it was that Michael Guerin found himself sitting on the floor of the West Roswell High art room with the girl he loved, being inspired by James Joyce to realign his philosophy on life.

Michael smirked. [Welcome to my world.]

****************

Isabel headed after Liz and as she passed him, Max offered her his arm. He might have let Michael down, and he'd have to do something about that, but he'd be damned if he wasn't there for his sister. He wasn't going to make the same mistake twice, not if he could help it.

But in light of the Harmony situation, there was no way for him to ignore the fact that he couldn't fix everything for her. He couldn't be normal for her and he couldn't be a girl. He could only be her brother. He would have to be a whole lot more, if what "Mom" said was true, but for now he would just be brotherly.

With his sister's arm through his he followed after Liz to the bleachers and that leader role he was so dreading.

When she got there, the stands were pretty empty. A few kids looking for some quality time in the sunshine were taking advantage of the top of the bleachers for some sunbathing, but that was all. Liz chose a seat near the bottom so she could rest her feet on the railing while she waited for the others. It was hard to balance her high shoes on the railing, but she managed. She smoothed her skirt down so that nothing untoward was showing. Then she clasped her hands around her knees and tried not to think.

Liz watched the athletics boys practice as she sat there, waiting, trying not to think about anything. Idly, she wondered why athelets practiced in the middle of the day. [Maybe they have to do it before lunch so they don't get sick.] Whatever. It didn't really matter. Everyone was too far away to hear them when they talked.

For a second, she thought she caught a glimpse of Kyle out there. Liz missed Kyle. He'd tried hard, and, though things hadn't worked out between them romantically, they had started rebuidling their friendship last year. Then, after being shot by Pierce and healed by Max, Kyle had almost dropped off the face of the Earth. Liz figured he was scared and confused, and wished he would talk to her about it. But she couldn't make him if she didn't want to.

She sighed and then glanced toward the path coming from the school. How had she gotten so far ahead of everyone?

"Thanks, Max," Isabel said warmly as she felt the security her brother gave her. She felt more than a little concerned that, after only one day back in Roswell, something big seemed to be happenning. It was for those reasons that her wish for a normal life, well as normal as an Alien/Human hyprid could have, was foremost in her thoughts these days.

She wanted to stop and find out what was going on, but she guessed from the looks on Max's and Liz's face that they wanted to get the gang all together.

The 'gang'.

She had seen five of the infamous members that day, but had seen no sign of Alex at all. Isabel admitted to herself that she had a little trepidation in the thought of her first meeting with Alex. As much as she knew she did the right thing for herself and Alex by breaking their relationship off just before she took off with her family, the fact that Alex did nothing but support her, still made her feel a little guilty.

Isabel pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind as she reached a rather impatient looking Liz.

"So, we're not the last here then," she said, hoping her attempts at humour would calm her.

Liz shook her head, causing her unaccustomed curls to swing a little. "No, you're not the last..." She the path from the school an impatient glance, wondering what was taking Michael and Maria so long.

She hoped that nothing bad had happened. Judging from Maria's tone, something had been going on. But, knowing Michael, Liz figured it was just more "stonewall" issues. Michael was full of them. She sighed, envying his resolve. Every time she saw Max, like now, she had regrets. Michael never seemed to -- or he could hide them better than she.

Aloud she muttered, "If they don't hurry, lunch will be over." She checked her watch. The period was half over already.

Isabel nodded, before realising that Liz had not mentioned Alex.

"Have you spoken to Alex today?" she asked a little nervously. She had no idea what Liz's opinion of her split with Alex, was. Liz and Isabel had grown reasonably close last year, but the summer desertion had put distance btween the two. Isabel liked Liz. She really did. But it was almost impossible to have a conversation with her, or Maria, without bigger overtones coming into the equation.

Liz sighed. She had wanted to wait until later to talk about this, but since Isabel had brought it up, Liz couldn't very will ignore the question.

"It's... complicated. The Alex thing." Liz looked down at her hands, running a finger over a ragged cuticle. She liked Isabel well enough, but Isabel had also hurt one of Liz's best friends. And, unlike with Michael, Liz had never talked with Isabel about it. Liz and Michael had fought for weeks, until fighting turned to talking turned to understanding, if not agreement. With Isabel, Liz was in the dark about her motives. She knew Max's sister well enough to know that she hadn't hurt Alex spitefully, but Liz still didn't know why.

"Actually... Alex isn't here. He's not coming back... for a while. Maybe a long while." She tucked an unruly curl behind her left ear and looked up at the siblings. "He got this incredible... um... opportunity to work with a psychology professor at the university on this ground-breaking experiment that he just couldn't pass up. When he called me this morning, he didn't know when he would be back."

Alex's injunction for Liz to watch out for Isabel for him echoed in her ears and she sighed again. She missed Alex and his wise-cracking sense of humor. He always had a way to make her smile, even in the worst of times. It had been hard, over the summer, without Alex and Maria, but she'd taken solace in the fact that they were coming back. And now he wasn't. She wondered what the other two would say, how they would react to this news, if they would care.

****************

Aidan glanced at Xander, wondering at the boy's silence. However the meeting had been nothing if not confusing thus far, so perhaps a repitition of his question would be in order.

Xander came back from his bout of zoning out with a start. "Sorry, my bad, I wasn't listening..."

"Xander," Aidan said, "as one who was actually inside the diner, has our mission here been compromised? Do you think the local law enforcment is looking out for you, Faith, Oz, Cordelia, Jeffery and Jessica? Or the tabloids?" Again, he kept his tone non-judgemental, knowing that nothing that had happened was anyone's fault, except, perhaps for Zeke.

"Well, you can never be too sure, but I think we're okay. Everybody cleared out before local law enforcement could show up. But we should definitely try and keep a low profile, just to be safe."

Aidan nodded. That was good news. "All right," he said, "I think we're almost done with this meeting. There's only one more thing to discuss, and maybe then we can all go get some food." A serious look came over his face.

"However, that one thing is a doozy. We have to figure out what are we going to do about Tess Harding, our mystery demon. From her belligerant attitude, I don't think she's going to bond with anyone we could send to cozy up to her. Should we assign someone to follow her, or to check up on her?" He paused, thinking. "We need someone to research what kind of demon she could be, so we'll know what action to take. And I also think it would be a good idea to for those of you who are questioning our list of those likely to be in the know should definitely see what you can find out about Ms. Harding without being obvious."

He touched the stack of files on his desk. "From the information I have here, she moved to Roswell at the end of last year with her father, who is in the military. Knowing what I know about moving to Roswell, her recent arrival alone is somewhat suspicious, though there is a military presence around her. Another idea is that someone could try searching her home..."

Because Aidan believed that free participation spawned the best ideas, he looked to the group at hand and said, "What do you guys think? Volunteers for any of those tasks? Other ideas?"

Willow looked up from the computer with a frown. "I tried to see what I could find from your description: preternaturally strong, no aversion to sunlight, attitude problem, able to pass as human. But that's just too general to turn up anything really useful. I need more details. More specifics." She shrugged. "I'll keep working on it, though. See if I can turn anything up. But I'm not too hopeful about my chances without more information to go on."

"So," Aidan said, "the question becomes, how can we get more information... Putting together a team for a little Breaking and Entering is sounding better and better..." He looked to the others to see if they agreed.

***************

Making her way to Aidan's office should have been an easy walk. It was afterall only a few minutes easy walk form the cafeteria. So what would be the odds that something would happen to her in that short walk. Well, as Harmony pointed out to herself on more than one occasion, Karma was her enemy.

As she entered the hallway, her path was stopped unceremoniously by the hulking figure of one of Roswell High's meathead jocks. One moment she was walking towards Aidan's office, and the next she was dumped on her butt. What was more embarressing was the reaction of the jock and his friends. Not one of them bent down to help her out, or see if she was okay. No they stood there for a minute, thinking that it was the funniest thing they had seen all year.

Harmony was determined not to show any emotion. She knew from precious experience (although on those occasions she was the humilator, not the humilatee), that any weakness would be exploited unmercifully by the 'cool' clique.

She gathered herself up with as much dignity as possible and walked purposefully towards the bathroom to recompose herself.

*************** Maria laughed quietly - an odd sound after all that had been going through her head. "What are you smiling at?" She stood up and held out her hand to help him to his feet, determined to ignore the painting - and everything attatched to it - for now. Another explosion of Maria-angst wouldn't do either of them any good. "We should probably get over there before Max gets worried."

Michael's smirk grew bigger. "God forbid."

Michael let her help him to his feet, not really because he needed the help but because he wanted to hold her hand again.

"Oof." Maria gave him the best reproachful look she could manage under the circumstances. "Big powerful alien and you can't float?" She hauled Michael to his feet with more drama than was strictly necessary. Pretending everything was normal - and that painting hadn't started all of this - was her best defense she could think of.

"Hardy har har," Michael replied, rolling his eyes. "Very funny."

Once he was on his feet again, he reluctantly dropped Maria's hand and turned to the painting, grabbing the white cloth and draping it over the alien landscape. He quickly got the painting back under wraps and then set it back in the rear of the art cabinet.

"Right, then. Let's get going." Maria glanced at the cabinet that safely hid the painting. With her usual knack for stellar conversation, she added "I'm guessing you can lock the door too, right?"

She gave him a weak smile and scrubbed at her eyes, just to make sure they were dry and non-puffy. "Sorry. Random babbling." She started toward the door before she could embarrass herself further.

[Okay, gotta say something... I need one of those WWJD? bracelets or something. What would Joyce do? Ugh, nevermind.]

Before they could head for the door and the bleacher meeting, Michael touched Maria's shoulder lightly. "Hey, wait a minute."

Maria turned around to look back at Michael. [If this is about how I made a complete fool of myself, I'll...] She sighed inwardly. [I'll break down completely, that's what I'll do. Liz is so much better at this stuff.]

"What?"

[You can do this. Just use that Guerin "stonewall" strength for something good for a change. Easy.]

Summoning up as much courage as possible, Michael said in a voice barely louder than a whisper, "Is it too late to take it back?"

"What? T - take it - ?" Maria repeated, except this time it wasn't so much a question as the only word she could manage. Even her inner cynic had gone completely silent. Getting her hopes up wasn't an option here, but she had absolutely no control over it.

"No." She shook her head. "O - Of course not."

****************

"I can go," Jeffery volunteered. "I don't have class until later, and it seems like now would be the best time to go, seeing as she's here."

Aidan nodded. "Good thought." Again he wished Faith and Oz hadn't completely bailed on them. They would be the perfect ones to accompany Jeffery on this mission. But they had, so Aidan had to make other arrangements.

He looked at Jessica. "Would you be comfortable doing this, Jessica?"

"Sure. A little breaking and entering never hurt anyone." Jessica displayed what she must have thought was a tough criminal impression. "I just need to get back here at some point."

Jeffery looked at her, too. "I can drop you off here afterwards so you can find Max... But, if you don't want to, I can go alone..."

Jessica shook her head. "It's not a problem. I'm completely shameless. Guilt-free."

Shooting a glance toward Amy, Aidan added, "Or, perhaps I could get away with writing someone an excuse..." Of course, Xander was another obvious choice to ask, but Aidan didn't want to put more pressure on the boy. And Amy looked like she might need an escape for a bit. He had noticed a sad look on her face today. "Or... I could try calling Faith and Oz, but who knows where they went..."

"I said I'd do it," Jessica said impatiently, kicking her foot on the desk to make a point. "I'm not supernatural, but I can do some good old spying. Besides, if Tess catches me, she won't be clued in that the Sunnydale Squad's after her. And if she tries to break my neck, I'll go all stakey on her." Despite her bravado, Jessica was beginning to wonder if she hadn't just done something really stupid. Aside from Aidan, she was the only normal human being here and was probably the big weak link in the chain.

Another blow to her self-confidence, that.

"Right." She gave them all her standard, toothy smile. "Ready to go, Jeffrey?"

"Well, then, Bonnie, let's get outta here," Jeffery joked. Then suddenly he stopped, remembering something. "Aidan!"

"Yes?" Aidan looked up questioningly.

"I forgot something I was going to tell you."

Aidan waited patiently for Jeffery to gather his thoughts.

"Last night I went to this club, UFOnics, and this vamp tried to pick me up for dinner."

"What happened?" Aidan looked at the other young man with concern.

"I dusted her," Jeffery said with no little pride. "Of course, when five more showed up I was glad that Faith was nearby. We dusted them all."

"Well, it's interesting to note the increase in vampire activity. Were they 'enhanced'?" Aidan asked.

Jeffery shook his head. "Same old vamps. But we questioned them about the super vamps, and apparently they do exist."

Aidan perked up at that. Finally a lead! He waited for Jeffery to finish.

"But they didn't make any sense about it. They were under the impression -- or they were lying -- that the super vampires are vampire gods of some sort."

"A demon that's a god?" Aidan raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Jeffery said. "The girl almost worshiped them. But she let it slip that there are only two... Unless she was lying." Suddenly he chuckled. "And then there was the other one that thought the supervamps were aliens..."

Aidan laughed out loud at that one. "Alien vampires. Well... this is Roswell. Maybe he was a UFO-nut before he died, and thought the vamp that got him was an alien or something."

Jeffery shrugged. "Maybe."

"Thanks for filling us in."

"Anytime. Need anything else?"

"Not that I can think of." Aidan thought about pumping Jeffery about Faith, but decided to do it later, in a more private setting.

Jeffery turned back to Jessica. "All right then... shall we?"

Aidan looked to the others as Jessica and Jeffery prepared to leave. They had covered pumping the Roswell natives who might be involved in the strange happenings, they'd talked about Tess Harding and made a plan to start dealing with that issue, they'd discussed the incident at the diner, and they'd discussed Jeffery and Faith's kill and the resultant, confusing findings. Everything seemed pretty clear cut...

"Well," Aidan asked Xander, Cordelia, Willow and Amy, "I think we're done for now, unless one of you has something else to discuss..." Glancing at Amy, he said, "And I will see at least one, if not all of you, at the Madison house later for the meeting with Doyle before the Crash Festival."

Xander nodded. "Right-o, daddy-o. I'll be there with bells on." As an afterthought, he added, "Not literally, of course."

Cordelia rolled her eyes in Xander's direction.

Glancing at Willow, Aidan added, "I think you and I need to discuss whatever it was that made Giles send you here, but I doubt we need everyone for that..."

Willow nodded. "Yes, you're right. We really should get that out of the way A.S.A.P."

"Yes," Aidan agreed. "I would say that is the next item on the agenda for today."

Glancing at Cordelia, he added, "I will call you and Isabel in for your schedule consultations this afternoon, as soon after lunch as I can manage."

"Sounds good" Cordelia said, grabbing Xander's arm and pulling him out of the office. Aidan and Willow obviously wanted to be alone to "talk about Giles". "Please!" she said to herself "Like you need leather pants to talk about Giles!" Cordelia wasn't convinced.

Once she got out to the hallway she released Xander from her grasp and turned to him. "So what do we do now? We don't actually have to go to class...do we?"

Xander shook his head. "Nope, it's still lunch time. So we can do whatever we want, I guess. You hungry?"

Now that everything was taken care of, he just had to wait for everyone to leave the room so he could go over Giles's message with Willow in private...

"Good," Aidan agreed. "Well, then, if there's nothing else, the rest of your are free to go get some lunch with the remainder of the hour. Oh, and Jeffery, call and let me know how your mission goes."

"Will do," said Jeffery as he opened the door for Jessica.

Jessica gave Aidan a salute and headed out the door, waiting until Jeffrey emerged from the office before she began working out the logistics of their break-and-enter. "I'm guessing you know where Tess lives, because I don't - and asking her probably falls under the Really Stupid heading, so..." She let her voice trail off, looking at Jeffrey expectantly.

To Cordelia, Aidan said, "I'll make sure to call you and Isabel into the office for scheduling problems as soon as possible after lunch is over."

And that was all he really had to say. Now all he had to do was wait for everyone, except Willow, to leave.

"I'll start interrogating the local law enforcement as soon as I get out of school," Amy assured him at the door. "See you at the homestead."

Aidan watched as they all left the office. "Let me know if you need help," Aidan called to Amy. "I'll see what I can do..."

Then he and Willow were alone in the office. Aidan suddenly found himself a little self conscious. "So... what was it Giles sent you with, anyway? It must've been important for him to send you all this way..."

***************

Jeffery held out a piece of paper Aidan had tucked into his hand before they left the room. It was Tess Harding's address copied from her student records. "Gotta love being on the in with the guidance counsellor," Jeffery said with a grin. "I think he didn't want to be obvious about his indiscretion, just in case she doesn't turn out to be a demon."

They walked out the nearest set of doors, which took them around back, around the gym and by the athletics fields. Suddenly, Jeffery stopped and pulled Jessica behind a convenient tree.

"Look," he said quietly, gazing at the bleachers at the football stadium. "Those are some of the people we were talking about. That clump of three near the 50 yard line." It was kind of hard to see since Jeffery and Jessica had to look around the side of the bleachers, but it was doable... just barely. "That's Max Evans and his sister Isabel. And the girl with them is Liz Parker."

***************

"Oh," Isabel replied softly. She was tempted to say that he shouldn't have stayed away on her account, but even she could see the ego that was present in that statement. Instead she only offered this.

"Say hi for me when you talk to him next."

Isabel hoped it didn't sound too aloof and that Liz could see that she was being genuine in her words. She couldn't think of anything else to say. How do you explain to your ex's best friend, that you shouldn't have started something in the first place, without looking incredibly selfish.

Liz's mouth dropped open just a little bit. Could Isabel really be that uncaring? All she had to say was "say hi to me"? Liz just couldn't believe it. One of her best friends in the whole world was staying out of town, and a big part of that (the part that wasn't psychology related) was Isabel's fault, and she couldn't say she was sorry, or that she missed his friendship, or anything? One of Alex's last thoughts had been about Isabel, about her well being. She hurt him so terribly, and he still cared about and thought about her. And Isabel didn't even seem to care at all.

Tears glistened in her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall. Alex would be the first to say she was being a silly, emotional woman. Turning her head away so she didn't have to look at her companions, she muttered, "Um... yeah... I'll be sure and do that."

Where the hell were Maria and Michael so they could get this thing over with!?!

There were a lot of things Max didn't know: how to be a leader; where he came from; who his enemies were; how set in stone "destiny" was; how to get Liz to believe that he loved her and not Tess. But there were things he did know. One of those was his sister and the other was Liz. There was huge undercurrent in their conversation, vast emotions totally belied by their few simple words. His experience with and attachment to them both allowed him to see that. The problem was knowing what to do about it.

He would miss Alex, that was certain. He was a true and loyal friend with talents that had benefited them greatly on many occasions, not to mention that he had saved Max's life. In the meantime, however, his sister was feeling responsible and a touch guilty and Liz was hurt on behalf of her friend. What was Max to do about it all?

"I'll really miss him," Max said into the awkward silence. "I hope he has a good time there." It wasn't very helpful, but knowing how things were and having the words to do anything about it are two totally different things.

Liz gave Max a small smile. At least he cared. At least he said he would miss Alex.

Isabel found herself nodding at Max's statement. But not for the reasons that Max said. In between the guilt that she had, she also saw something to be happy for. Alex was not in Roswell. Where he was he wouldn't have to deal with the government, Evil Aliens or the destiny that was fortold to the pod squad by Isabel and Max's Mother. He was doing something that he loved, something that was....normal.

Isabel could tell by the fact that Liz could hardly look at her that she wasn't happy with what Isabel had said earlier. She took a couple of steps towards Liz and soflty spoke to her.

"I envy him. He's safe."

Liz was glad to see that Isabel cared, at least a smidge. But she still wasn't completely happy about the situation.

"Well, to a degree, maybe. But none of us are safe completely. Nasedo is closing down the FBI special unit and everything, but what if something goes wrong? Alex is on that list, just like the rest of us. And we don't know what else might or might not happen, what with this whole war thing. Alex is alone up there. We'd never know if our... your... any enemies took him away." She sighed deeply. "And all he was worried about was us... and you."

Liz knew that some of her comments would be taken as over-reacting, but Liz was a scientist. She looked at every possible angle before coming to a conclusion, and, as unlikely as the possibilities she'd mentioned were, they were still possibilites...

"That sounds like Alex," Isabel replied softly.

Liz's words had, momentarily weakened Isabel's resolve, but the anger that Isabel could tell was behind them, helped her get her focus back on track. While the rational part of her brain told her that it wasn't Liz's fault, the irrational side, the side which overtakes when she felt she was being lectured to, told her that all of their problems started when Liz found out their secret. And it was that side of her brain that lead her words.

"I did what was right, Liz, and to be honest I really don't care if you beleive me or not."

Liz shot Isabel a hurt look. From disagreement to personal attacks. Liz had forgotten how Isabel could do that. But she realized now that she shouldn't have. Memories of the night of the Crash Festival a year ago sprung to her mind. Maria had been freaked out by Isabel for a long time afterwards.

"Well, I'm glad to know where you stand, Isabel," Liz said in a soft voice. There were so many other things she wanted to say, but she couldn't. Not with Max standing right there. Instead, she settled for, "And, for the record, I only remember commenting about my fear that one of my two best friends in the world isn't safe alone. I don't recall saying anything about my opinion on your break-up. But thank you for the information. It clears things up... really."

She glanced again at the path toward the school. Where the hell were Maria and Michael? This was getting ugly. If they didn't show up soon, nothing Max could say would make her stick around and take this abuse!

Isabel had to stop herself from laughing out loud. Was Liz seriously forgetting her words. The little dig about Alex only being worried about 'us...and you'. She had even made sure to tag on the 'and you' part just to emphasize the point.

'Sure, no opinion expressed at all,' she thought angrily.

Instead however she just shot Liz a very indignant look. She had wanted to say something to her, but even with all the anger spinning around in her head now, she knew that if she opened her mouth, the venom that would spew forth would be an over reaction. She needed to go away and cool down, before having a chance to talk to Liz one on one. Only then would there be a chance to see if they could still be friends. It looked like Michael and Maria had found better things to do, and Isabel decided to follow their lead. There had to be something better to do than just standing here.

She took a couple of steps towards Max. "I'm out of here, Max. Tell whatever you wanted to say to Liz and tell me later."

Turning back to face Liz, she tried to put her frustration away. "We'll talk. Later!" It wasn't so much an order as a one way request.

[Yeah, like I have nothing better to do than get insulted again,] Liz thought, but she didn't say anything to the retreating Isabel. Would it do any good? Doubtful, after the hurtful way Isabel had been acting. Granted, Liz knew she had not been her most understanding and forgiving self, but wasn't she allowed a little less-than-perfect time? One of her best friends was gone, and Liz was missing him more than she'd thought she would. And everything in her life was all messed up right now. Nothing felt right. And Isabel had practically made a career out of being b****y to everyone in school (Liz, Alex and Maria included in the past), and yet she couldn't find it in her to give Liz a little compassion when Liz was hurting for something that, in a way, was Isabel's fault.

Sure, Liz didn't think that Isabel should stay with Alex out of pity. If Isabel didn't love Alex, then Liz was glad they had broken up. It would be better for Alex that way, in the long run. And, even if she wanted to -- which she didn't -- Liz knew she didn't have the right to judge someone for a break up. That would be the pot calling the kettle black... or the human calling the alien green, as it were. Liz heaved a great sigh, feeling that helpless feeling coming upon her again. She really had to find a better way of life... But whatever happened, it was obvious that her friendship with Isabel had not been the real thing. If it had been, Isabel wouldn't have jumped to conclusions and read things into her words that hadn't been there. Yes, Liz felt that Alex leaving was Isabel's fault, in a way, but she didn't hazzard an opinion on the validity of their breakup, because Liz didn't know all the details. To Liz, that was something between Isabel and Alex. Just like her break up with Max was just between the two of them. Liz had to wonder what Isabel was really feeling on the subject, if she could jump to such damaging conclusions like that. But none of this was getting Liz anywhere. She did know one thing, though. She wasn't going to go looking for that "requested" meeting with Isabel. If Isabel wanted to talk to Liz, then Isabel would have to ask.

****************

Michael was surprised. He'd expected it to be a lot harder than this. He'd been waiting for her to yell and scream at him and call him all sorts of names for playing with her heart like that for the past few months. He'd expected to get slapped across the face or kicked in the shins. What he *hadn't* expected was what he'd gotten. Which, come to think of it, was actually the norm when it came to his relationship with Maria.

Rule number one: Expect the unexpected.

But now Michael had another problem. He didn't know where to go from here. He'd been so focused on getting the damn question out there, he hadn't given any thought to the "what's next" portion of this thing. He hadn't wanted to get his hopes up that she might be willing to give him another chance.

Though his question had been kinda vague...

Michael froze, a terrible fear creeping up into his heart. What if she'd misunderstood his question? What if she really wanted nothing to do with him?

So he said the only thing that came to mind. "Really?"

"Really. Honest." Maria smiled slightly, suddenly feeling as if a big weight was starting to lift off of her shoulder. She was angry, but she was happy at the same time. Really, really happy. "I'm still gonna kick you a couple times for being a complete /jerk/, but yeah. I mean it."

[Oh, wow, that wasn't lame or anything. Great job, man. Dazzle the girl by using all three of those brain cells. Fantastic.]

"Um, I mean... I'm sorry."

"You're sorry," Maria echoed, quirking an eyebrow at him.

[Okay, since when did you lose the ability for intelligent speech, Guerin?]

"I mean, I'm sorry for what happened before. What I said was... wrong. Um, well, the goodbye part was, anyway. The part before that, when I told you how I felt about you... that was - IS - true."

Maria wasn't sure what to say. She had hoped for this moment, but it had involved Michael being eloquent and her being more Liz-ish and, out of loyalty to her friend, Max and Liz realizing they were being complete dumbos at the same time and everything being okay. It hadn't involved an art room. And it hadn't involved Michael not being able to talk.

But she'd take it anyway. She wasn't picky.

And if she wasn't careful, she was going to start crying again. Great.

[And I'll take extremely cheesy things to say for 500, Alex!]

Michael sighed and looked down at his hands. This was *not* going the way he'd hoped. He was now babbling like a love sick idiot, which, granted, he kinda was, but he didn't have to *act* that way, did he?

Words sucked. They never came out quite the way you wanted them to. Unless you were Max.

[So forget words, since that tactic is obviously not working for you right now. Try something else.]

Something else. Like what?

Then he noticed her hands, which were by her sides. She'd painted some kind of sparkly stuff on her nails, which were trimmed nicely. So unlike his own hands, which, at the moment, were spotted with dabs of paint from when he was digging through the art cabinet. He reached out and took one of her smaller hands in his, noting how much darker and rougher his hands were than hers. He ran his fingers over the palm of her hand and then across the back of it. Her skin was so soft.

Then he looked up and met her eyes, keeping her hand in his, and tried his best to channel the Maxwell within.

"I miss you, Maria."

"I miss you, too." Not high on the list of most romantic sayings of all time, but Maria wasn't going for originality. She was too busy staring up at Michael and wondering what the hell she had done without him. That sounded really, really sappy, but it was the honest truth. It was too bad she had absolutely nothing witty to say right now.

Actually, she did.

"If Tess says anything about destiny today, can I kick her in the shins?"

Michael laughed, which in and of itself was a rare event, and tugged lightly on Maria's hand, pulling her into a hug. It felt so good to be able to be this close to her again. And he didn't care what Max and the others thought. He could be soldier boy and have a human girlfriend at the same time. Heck, back when they'd been dating last, hadn't Maria forced him rent some cheesy romance movie where a soldier had a girlfriend waiting for him at home? Well, if some sissy Hollywood soldier could do it, then so could Michael. 'Nuff said.

Maria grinned and pushed herself (slightly) away from Michael, just far enough for her to look up at his face. If anyone - Tess, Max, Isabel, even Liz - so much as ventured an opinion about this, she was going to personally bind and gag them.

"Whatever you want, Maria," he told her, placing a light kiss on her forehead. "Just don't expect me to help you do it. Tess'd probably kick my ass."

"Speaking of which." Reluctantly, Maria stepped away and started for the door. "I mentioned the little Tess thing to Max a little while ago. Maybe he found something. And I have to go reassure Liz." She chewed her lip for a moment before adding "Do you want to do something after work?"

Michael nodded, giving a small sigh of resignation as he followed Maria out the door, using his powers to lock it behind them. "Max. Right. I still haven't talked to him since our misguided attempts at lunch earlier. And after blowing up at him and Isabel, I'm sure he'll just love to have something else to criticize me about."

Michael loved Max - in that platonic, brotherly way, of course - he did, but sometimes it was just so hard for them to see eye to eye. Max had that whole "Mr. Perfect" thing going on while Michael was constantly branded as the screw up, the rebel without a clue. Max was the epitome of a pacifist while Michael took the phrase "man of action" to new heights. So it was easy to see why finding common ground could be so hard for the two aliens.

Then, in the midst of his rambling, Michael suddenly realized what Maria had asked him about his plans for tonight. And he found himself remembering what Willow had said about the annual Crash Festival being tonight.

And a plan started to form in his mind...

"Do you have a costume for the Crash Festival?" he asked abruptly as they walked down the hallway and out the doors of the school building on their way to the meeting at the bleachers.

*****************

Amy left Aidan's office with renewed vigor and a better outlook. She had marching orders in a noble cause and she had not been run through today and things were a whole lot better than she had given them credit for.

She found her locker and got it open without too much trouble. She deposited the books she had recieved in her morning classes and then set about actually eating something today at lunch. After the negligible breakfast she would need something. She hustled over to the cafeteria, which was easily distinguishible by the odors wafting from it and the din which always accompanies a room of people eating. The lunch line was fairly non-existant this late in the period and she selected items which could easily be consumed quickly.

She retrieved her wallet from her purse and looked for the proper amount for the lunch lady looking bored and found a piece of paper in with her money.

It read: "Dannan, I hope you're having a wonderful first day at school. Just remember, I love you. Allen."

Amy quickly wiped the tear that sprang unbidden to her eye and found the proper denomination to give the woman who was now giving her odd looks. Amy ignored the looks and wondered again how she had been so lucky.

**********************

Isabel turned away from her brother and Liz and took a couple of steps away, wanting to get the heck out of there ASAP.

And that was the moment Michael and Maria chose to appear for the meeting...

Two steps was all she got, as her escape was interupted by the arrival of Michael and Maria. She thought about staying, now that Michael was there. He had helped her earlier, but she really didn't want to be around Liz at the moment.

"I have to go," She said to both of them, before moving past and walking away.

Taking her eyes of Isabel's retreating form, Liz asked, "So, Max, can we get on with this." She glanced at her watch. "We don't have much time before class starts..."

Max stared off after his sister for a moment dazed and confused by the confrontation. What had just happened here? "Uh, right," he said aloud, knowing he would have to do something to try and mend that rift but forcing the issue now was probably not the best tactic he could take.

"Look, I know we've been having some disagreements lately and perhaps some feelings have been hurt." He gave Michael a look which he hope conveyed his contrition. "I'm not suggesting we just get over it, but I do think we need to look past it for the moment. Our lives hang in the balance.

"I don't know what's up with Tess, but there is something very definitely not right going on here. If she starts going homicidal with the powers she has, we may be the only thing that can stop her. Or she might come after us. Or she might give us up to the Feds. None of these sound like terribly good options to me. I suggest we pool our information and try and figure out what's going on here. We ~have~ to stick together."

Michael sighed. He had planned to tell Max and the others up front about what was going on with himself and Maria, but with everything that had happened, he was a little nervous about dropping that bombshell just yet. It looked like he wasn't the only one who had issues left over from the long summer apart from the gang.

He was already worried about Liz. He could see that she wasn't taking being back in school and in the thick of things very well. And apparently, neither was Izzy.

Max was acting the same as usual, alternating between mooning over Liz and being the "one in charge" of everything. But he seemed a little rougher around the edges than Michael remembered. Things had been hard on him as well.

At least Michael knew that Maria was doing okay. One out of 6 wasn't *too* bad.

Then Michael noticed that, aside from Isabel, one other member of the aforementioned six was missing in action.

Michael raised an eyebrow. Alex was many things, most of them kinda dorky, but he was never late. If you looked up punctuality and dependability in the dictionary, Michael was sure that you'd find Alex's picture there.

"Hey Maxwell, hold up for a minute. Shouldn't we wait until Whitman gets here before we start this little pow wow?"

After a number of minutes, Harmony emerged from the bathroom, her face not showing any lingering effects of her encounter. She made her way down the hallway and around the corner, until she stood outside the the Guidance Officer's office.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door, trying this time to show more politeness then her earlier barging effort.

"Come in," Aidan called, turning away from Willow reluctantly. It was nice seeing her again, even though they had professed to be only friends. If they weren't in a public building, Aidan wouldn't have said come in, but vampires can get into schools, so that avoidance didn't work.

Hearing Aidan's call, Harmony twisted the door handle and opened the door with a purpose. Now was the time for her to show that she could be serious. She had some potential new friends to worry about. As she walked in , her face rose to meet Aidan's.

"Okay, now what the heck is going," she started before noticing someone else standing next to him.

"Oh, hi Willow,: she said flippantly, before turning back to address Aidian.

'Hold, on what!!!!!!!!!!' Harmony's mind screamed.

Harmony turned her head around really quickly to face Willow again. Then back to Aidan. then back to Willow. Then back to Aidan.

"I need a seat," she said exhausted, as she sat herself down. As she did she mentally counted the number of Sunnydalites she had seen in the last 24 hours.

"You know, if i had known how much you would all miss me, I would have stayed in contact with you," she wryly quipped, ignoring the fact the she was now more than ever, sure something very 'Sunnydale' was happening in Roswell.

Willow rolled her eyes. "Nice to see you, too, Harmony."

Harmony smiled at Willow's response. She would never let her know it, but there was a great deal of respect in Harmony's opinion of Willow. Now being away from the pressure of being popular in Sunnydale, Harmony felt it easier in admiting that to herself.

Looking over at Aidan, she added, "Any other Sunnydale alums in Roswell that I should know about? Giles likes to be informed about stuff like this..."

"I just found out Harmony was here this morning, and, since we weren't alone, I didn't get the chance to ask her why..." Aidan glanced at the girl in question. "But I assume you came here to ask me the same question."

"Yeah, well. I saw Xander Harris a few days ago, then last night I see Jessica Anderson, " Harmony didn't hide her dislike of that particular girl that well, ' and Faith hanging around the Crashdown Cafe. Then this morning i walk in here to change my classes and see you. Now Willow." Harmony took a breather, before continuing.

"So anyway, It didn't take someone of your intelligence, Willow, to realise that you all didn't suddenly decide Roswell was a nice place to live. And I have sort of got some friends here, and one of them at least has noticed something weird, and well, I want them to be safe. So....I was wondering how much we need to stay indoors at night time?"

"Staying indoors at night is always a safe bet," Aidan said carefully, trying to gauge Harmony's reactions. He'd always been surprised that the blonde had figured out the truth about everything back in Sunnydale, but she had. And that posed an interesting dilemma here. On the one hand, if she knew nothing, she most certainly would have unwittingly blown the horn on their covert operation. On the other hand, Harmony knew just enough to be dangerous. He had to convince her to keep her mouth shut.

He continued aloud by saying, "You'd be doing your friends a favor by not letting them wander around at night. You're right, we are here working on a case. But I can't give you any of the details. In fact, we don't know many of the details ourselves. But that's what we're here for." He paused, and then added, "Harmony, you can't tell anyone here that we're all connected to each other. It's important that we keep a low profile in Roswell for as long as possible."

Harmony understood all that. It was the dilemma she faced, if she had to lie to her new potential friends. Liz, for one knows that she really didn't make any friends last year. Isabel too, probably. But what would happen ifshe went into the Crashdown this afternoon, accepting Liz's invite and then Xander, Jessica or Faith walked in. Afterall they were there last night.

"Yeah, i get it. Secret Supergang and all that. But they already know that we know each other. You told Michael that this morning and he brought it up at lunch. Now one quaintance can be explained away as co-incidence, but four or five.... Maybe you could think up a good excuse as to why i suddenly have all these people I know in Roswell. Cause I've gotta tell you, I'm drawing a blank over here."

"Well, what is it they say about the simplest answer being the best one?" Willow pointed out. "We know that if anyone takes the time to check our backgrounds, they'll see that we all knew each other in Sunnydale. 'There's no hiding that fact. So we shouldn't try and lie about it. Just say that we all went to school together, or in Aidan's case, just knew each other there. Yeah, us showing up here at the same time is mighty weird, but we all do have cover stories. Let's not try and make up extra lies unless we have to. Keep it simple."

Aidan nodded in agreement. He added, "And if we don't make a big production about the fact that we know each other, i.e., not mention it, it will help keep things under control for a while at least."

Looking at Harmony, he added, "But don't tell the locals about vampires and such. They won't believe you anyway. They'll just lump you in with the crazies who've seen UFOs, and pay no attention. In my experience, you get better results if you subtlely keep an eye on people, and suggested driving instead of walking alone at night, that sort of thing." He once would have been surprised that he was telling Harmony Kendal this, but somehow it seemed appropriate. Maybe there was more there than anyone had given her credit for. "It's what we do."

"And you thought there was a reason I rarely ventured out in Sunnydale alone at night, believe me I know all about that sort of stuff," Harmony replied, merely echoing Aidan's suggestions, not having a go at him at all.

She didn't think the plan of non-admittance would work, especially if the other Sunnydale alumni weren't in it, but she would follow Aidan's and Willow's sugestion for the moment. She didn't hold any ill towards the Scooby Gang, well except for Jessica Anderson, but she also wasn't wanting to get into lying to her new friends either. So Harmony decided that it would be best just to keep quiet and see what eventuated.

"Well, okay. I'll be out of here." She turned to Willow. "It was good to see you again Willow. Like the Pants." she said with a smile, but also with truth.

"Keep me posted, Harmony," Aidan said. "Please? On if your new friends in Roswell are suspicious of us. We're already in danger of losing our anonymity, which is an essential part of our job here." He sighed. "And keep yourself safe. If you see anything weird, anything at all, let us know. We're here to help."

"I will." Harmony replied, before turning and opening the door. "See you later."

She shut the door as she entered the hallway. She paused for a while, wondering briefly what to do. There was only a short while till the end of lunch and she was tempted to just proceed to her next class, but a dry taste that was slowly growing in her mouth made her decide instead, to get a drink first.

When Harmony had gone, Aidan turned back to Willow. "All right... so about the reason Giles sent you here...?"

Willow nodded. "Right, down to business."

She reached into her backpack and pulled out a package wrapped in plain, brown paper. She handed it to Aidan.

"He sent me with this. Said it was too important to trust to the mail."

Willow shrugged. "I don't even know what it is; he didn't tell me. Just said to make sure you got it."

Aidan gave Willow a surprised look, and then took the package. "Well, thanks. I can't believe that's it. No verbal message or anything?" He started opening the paper, very carefully. "Maybe there's something inside..."

*************************

Michael sighed. He had planned to tell Max and the others up front about what was going on with himself and Maria, but with everything that had happened, he was a little nervous about dropping that bombshell just yet. It looked like he wasn't the only one who had issues left over from the long summer apart from the gang.

He was already worried about Liz. He could see that she wasn't taking being back in school and in the thick of things very well. And apparently, neither was Izzy.

Max was acting the same as usual, alternating between mooning over Liz and being the "one in charge" of everything. But he seemed a little rougher around the edges than Michael remembered. Things had been hard on him as well.

At least Michael knew that Maria was doing okay. One out of 6 wasn't *too* bad.

Then Michael noticed that, aside from Isabel, one other member of the aforementioned six was missing in action.

Michael raised an eyebrow. Alex was many things, most of them kinda dorky, but he was never late. If you looked up punctuality and dependability in the dictionary, Michael was sure that you'd find Alex's picture there.

"Hey Maxwell, hold up for a minute. Shouldn't we wait until Whitman gets here before we start this little pow wow?"

Max sighed and shot an apologetic look at Liz. Considering how things went over the last time she broached that subject, Max decided to spare her. "Alex isn't coming. He's left Roswell for the time being to work with a Psychology professor." Max looked pointedly at Michael hoping that he'd clue in that it was a touchy subject.

Liz glanced at Maria and tried to smile. "He told me to tell you that he missed you, too, and that the Whits would start practicing again when he gets back. Whenever that is."

Her voice cracked a little, but she tried to cover it with a fake cough.

Michael shrugged. He'd actually miss the little guy, though he wasn't about to tell the others that. "Well, then I guess everybody's here. Time for the meeting?" He crossed his arms and fixed Max with a "look." "Why did you drag us all out here, Maximillion?"

Max sighed. Hadn't he already been through this? "I'm worried, Michael," he told him. "I just had a run in with Tess and now I'm told she was acting crazy at the Crashdown. We have to stand together or I won't be the only one as a guest of government interrogators. And I really don't want to see the law enforcement try to stop Tess if she went on a random killing spree. We are the only ones who can stop her."

Max took a breath and tried to calm down. He hoped he wasn't just being overly melodramatic. "We need to figure out what's going on here," he summed up.

"So," Liz spoke up. "What is it we actually know? Besides the fact that Tess is a freaked-out weird-o who's now threatening to break new girl's necks, and that Michael thinks she doesn't have a pulse? Is there... um... anything else we can put on the list?"

Michael sighed. It felt weird to be the one who was trying *not* to fly off the handle. That was usually Max's job.

"Look, I know that there's *something* up with Tess, but aren't we getting a little ahead of ourselves with all this talk of killing sprees and government interrogators? Besides, I don't see how Tess could possibly turn us over to the FBI. Because if she identified us as aliens, she'd be giving herself away, too. And I don't think she's really itching to become a government lab rat any more than the rest of us. And if she's smart, she'll know that killing sprees are out because that would just paint a big neon bullseye on all of our backs - including hers - for the feds to aim at."

Michael smirked, pleased with himself for being the level headed one this time. Izzy was going to be shocked when she heard about this.

"But, just because we don't think that Tess is likely to rat us out to the feds or anything, that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be extra careful to act like 'normal kids' and the whole nine yards. Keep from bringing too much attention to ourselves. Which brings me to my plan."

Michael ignored the surprised/shocked looks from everyone and continued on.

"We split up in teams of two or three and keep an eye on Tess during school, just to be safe and to maybe find out what's going on with her. And tonight, we should make an appearance at the Crash Festival after work. Everyone will be there, so if we show it well help with the 'normal kids' act. And as an added bonus, there's a good chance that Tess will show and we'll be able to continue keeping an eye on her. After all, when the Crash Festival is going on, there's really nothing else to do in this town except attend. So it's the most likely place for her to be tonight."

Max blinked. Michael had come up with a plan. One which involved calmly gathering information and acting normal. One which did not involve breaking and entering nor attempting to sell candies to the Roswell police force. What are the odds?

"I agree," Max heard himself say. "We need to keep tabs on Tess. We'll want to figure out her schedule again so we can know where she'll be. And going to the Crash makes sense. I just hope no one ends up handcuffed at this one..."

Liz wondered briefly who was going to be on *her* team. If she ended up with Max *and* Isabel, Liz was just going to have to shoot herself.

"Does anyone have any classes with Tess?" Liz asked. "I mean, we can't actually cut our own classes to keep an eye on her, but it would help if we knew what her schedule was so we'd know where to look for her..."

Michael shrugged. "I *did* have art with her, but she threw a hissy fit and had the new guidance couselor change her schedule."

Liz began to get the gleam of an idea. "The guidance counselor, huh? Maybe we should pay him a little visit, like we did with Miss Topolski... preferably when he's not there, and preferably someone with the power to open the lock on the filing cabinet where he has all the student files... which include schedules!"

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